Unless you are a Native American,
you have immigrants in your family. It is one of the universal elements to
American life. Surprisingly, there a very few movies that really get to the
heart of the matter. Avalon not only does so, it also sums up the 20th
century American experience better than just about than any movie I can think
of. Avalon begins on the 4th of July in 1914 when Sam
Krichinsky comes to Baltimore from Russia to join his brothers in “the new
country.” The brothers settle in a neighborhood called Avalon and set about
living the American dream. With care and beautifully drawn details, director
Barry Levinson lets us into their world of work and family. The brothers become
wallpaper hangers, raising children and trying to fit into their new country
while holding on to the cultural vestiges of their previous life. One of their
most important memories is their first Thanksgiving dinner in America. The
family is set up at a maze of tables strewn throughout their small apartment
and the room, as well as the screen lights up with a genuine familial warmth
that is rarely seen on film. Bickering and argument melt into the golden glow
of laughter and memory as the family takes part in this most American of
holidays. In the corner, while the family bonds, is the silent eye of a new and
ominous family member: the television set.
And thus the Krichinsky family
enters the American century, full of hope and the best intentions to work hard
and make it in this “promised land.” And in many ways, they do just that. Their
story shows outward success, as the sons of two of the brothers become
successful salesmen, first with televisions, then opening an early discount
store. We see this family grow and start to spread out in Baltimore making
their mark as so many other immigrant families did. But we also see cracks
start to show in this optimistic façade. The family leaves Avalon for the
suburbs, and thus the die is cast. With the core family split, things start to
unravel. The family seems to have more and more trouble getting together for
Thanksgiving; brothers feud, and the two sons become more successful; but have
they over-leveraged themselves? The family dinner table goes from being the
center of the home, to something the family walks past on their way to eat in
front of the TV.
The movie provides many twists and
turns of plot that I won’t give away, but it is the powerful development of
themes familiar to all of us that make Avalon the masterpiece it is.
With an inextricable inevitability, we see the Krichinsky family, so
reminiscent of our own, splinter apart. Sam came to America full of justified
hope, and he and his extended family begin to change and shape their adopted
country. But as America always does, the country and the corrosive effects of
modern life slowly change the family. By the end, we barely recognize them as
the people we first met; they are now Americans.
Avalon does something
remarkable. It captures an elusive and poignant truth about American life. In
the process of becoming naturalized, we, by necessity, become de-naturalized
from our families and thus the values, traditions, beliefs and heritage at the
very core of our lives. It begs the uncomfortable question; is it worth giving
up everything you hold dear for a grab at the gold ring?
- Paul Epstein
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